Turkey for Two: Romantic Thanksgiving Getaways for Couples

Last year, Montage debuted its first international property in Los Cabos, and the site—with its infinity pools that reflect cotton candy sunsets; private, swimmable cove; and architecture that disappears into the desert landscape—is a total dream. For Thanksgiving, Montage does it up with several feasts and a luxe artisan market. Each day brings its own lineup of festive activities, like cookie decorating classes, happy hour with hot chocolate and churros, and the Black Friday Lounge Market with stylish goods from Eclectic Array and Manuel Sanchez Jewelry. Dinner options range from the three-course menu at the modern-Mexican restaurant Mezcal to an in-room supper with a whole turkey.

For the ultimate rugged-luxury Thanksgiving couples’ getaways, dynamic duos should check into Brush Creek Ranch, where the kitchen staff at the new Cheyenne Club restaurant will serve up what’s sure to be one of the best Thanksgiving meals in the West. Pulling from the on-site greenhouse, brewery, distillery, creamery, bakery, and wine vault at the resort’s new The Farm culinary enclave, the chef composed a menu of classic comfort food (turkey, Rocky Mountain trout, gnocchi with roasted acorn squash, all the sides) with a farm-fresh take. The meal is included in the nightly rate, as are the daytime activities, which might include horseback riding and yoga one day and biking and archery the next. This is bonding at its finest.

The spiritually inclined, uber-luxe Miraval Arizona embraces an entire season of thankfulness from October 11 through the holiday weekend. Offerings throughout the month are designed to help ground you in a gratitude-filled lifestyle with workshops for sound healing, visualization, Ayurvedic consults, conscious-baking classes, and other life-altering practices. One of the highlights is the Gratitude Dinner cooking class and communal meal in the resort’s Williams-Sonoma-outfitted kitchen ($195 per person with wine pairings) on Thanksgiving.

Old-soul lovebirds will appreciate the throwback vibe at this resort, which retains the casual elegance it became known for when it opened as the snowy getaway for Hollywood royalty in the late thirties. As part of a longstanding tradition, Sun Valley’s Thanksgiving celebration coincides with opening day for the ski resort. Snowmaking crews ensure Bald and Dollar Mountains are ready for first turns Thursday at 9 a.m. Free après entertainment comes with live music at River Run Lodge and film screenings at the Sun Valley Opera House. And, four restaurants throughout the resort offer holiday feasts and specials for the big meal.

Design-savvy, San Francisco staycationers and sojourners feel right at home at the Kelly Wearstler-designed Proper Hotel, where you’ll be within strolling distance of Union Square’s Christmas Tree Lighting on Friday night. The 83-foot (artificial) tree anchors the festive scene that overtakes the plaza with an ice skating rink and window displays at the surrounding fancy stores. On Thanksgiving Day, you’re in for a fine dining experience at the hotel’s opulent-whimsical Villon. The spread stretches over three courses with your choice of entrees like turkey or salmon with sides and pumpkin or pecan pie. Dinner runs $80 per person, plus $35 to add wine pairings. Wrap with a spirited cocktail around a fire pit at the rooftop bar before retreating to your colorful room, kitted out with made-in-Cali mattresses; Wearstler-designed, cotton robes; and tablets that can be used to summon anything from late-night room service to vitamin shots.

Vail officially transitions into Winter Wonderland-mode during its first Revely Vail festival November 23-30. Thanksgiving couples' getaways can include cooking classes (so you can learn how to make a killer holiday meal for later), guided hikes, stargazing tours, and ice skating. Rest your heads at the Bavarian-inspired (and German-owned) Sonnenalp—still family-run after 40 years—where Thanksgiving suppers are served at Ludwig’s and the handsome Bully Ranch (pictured). Over the next couple of days, you’ll happen on the village’s 10th annual parade, a holiday market, and the tree lighting ceremony on Slifer Square on Saturday. Thanks to its expanded snowmaking, the resort is guaranteeing a November 15 opening date, so arrive prepared to shred.

Live out any lingering rom-com fantasies at San Diego's Hotel Del, where sunset beach walks-meet-ice skating dates. From the moment you walk into the lobby of this 1888 classic (recognize the red awnings from Some Like It Hot?), the holiday cheer takes over as you’re greeted by a two-story Christmas tree decked out with Victorian ornaments. On Thanksgiving Day, the giant holiday spread is served all day in two ballrooms. Splurge on a tony cottage for two in the Beach Village, which comes with a personal concierge and exclusive pools and hot tubs (from $1,399). Or, keep it low-key with a room within the main hotel, which is undergoing a $200 million renovation. Either way, you can end every night being cute on the trademarked Skating by the Sea rink, which has debuted for the holiday weekend for the past 16 years.

Most of the spacious rooms—none smaller than 640 square feet—at this three-year-old hotel have big balconies and ocean or mountain views. Though the rates are steep (as is expected at a Four Seasons), you’ll be thankful to know this is one of the few Hawaii resorts that doesn’t have a resort fee or charge for using snorkel gear, stand-up paddle boards, hula lessons, or poolside cabanas. Steer away from the main beach, which is shared with the Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa, and head straight for the adults-only infinity pool, on the western (read: “sunset”) side of the property. The holiday meals get a decidedly Hawaiian spin here. You might go for the family-style feast of turkey roulade with pistachio stuffing at the Italian-Hawaiian Noe or a sea-to-table brunch at Mina’s Fish House.

This stately Colorado hotel seems to live for the holidays. For more than 30 years, the 5,000-acre Broadmoor, which passed the 100 year mark in 2018, has kicked off the season with a White Lights Ceremony that illuminates the resort with more than 1 million lights over the holiday weekend. You’ll be able to choose from a host of holiday daytime and evening meals, see human-sized gingerbread houses as part of the resort’s renowned display, watch a streaming of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and follow a lit path to a waterfall. That’s all in addition to any fly fishing, fat tire biking, or falconry adventures you and your mountain-loving sidekick choose to enjoy. High-roller couple friends can go in on the all-inclusive Thanksgiving package at the newer, mountaintop Cloud Camp lodge (pictured). You'll be renting the entire seven-room lodge with every detail catered to suit your group of lovebirds.